TORONTO: Oscilloscope Bags Evil Santa

BREAKING NEWS: Oscilloscope Laboratories has just wrapped up North American rights to the Jalmari Helander-directed Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, following its Toronto International Film Festival. Pic is a dark re-imagining of the St. Nick myth. The film will be released this year, in time for the holidays. “This is really a unique film, the filmmaking exceptional, Jalmari’s sense of timing perfect,” said Oscilloscope chief Adam Yauch. “I’m tempted to say it’s like the Coen Brothers meets How The Grinch Stole Christmas, but Rare Exports is so original in its feel and approach that I’ll refrain from such comparisons and simply say, gas up your snowmobiles, load your shotguns and smoke ’em if you got ’em, ’cause we intend to uncage this sucker in theaters for the holidays.”

On Christmas Eve in Finland, Santa Claus is unearthed in an archaeological dig. This leads to the disappearance of the town’s children, and when a boy and his father come into possession of Santa, the father’s clan of hunters try to cash in by selling Santa back to the misguided leader of the corporation that sponsored the dig. It’s rough sledding from there.

The film gets its U.S. debut this weekend at Austin’s Fantastic Fest. The picture is Oscilloscope’s second acquisition of a Toronto film, following its acquisition of North American distribution rights for Kelly Reichardt’s Western drama , Meek’s Cutoff. Below is the trailer for Rare Exports: